Of Mischievous Boys and Strawberry Cakes
by starry night blue
Summary: ONESHOT - When Haruhi accepts a babysitting job, she believes that her charge will merely be an adorable kid who loves bunnies. But that's only half the truth.


**A/N: I don't own OHSHC. **

**Before I say anything else, this story is for princesschristina, who requested that I write a Honey x Haruhi fic. It's a bit difficult trying to write such a fic, because there's really nothing to base it on, and...Honey is such a kid. I just needed to know how to use that to my advantage, and this is what I managed to come up with. **

**Happy Reading!**

**Of Mischievous Boys and Strawberry Cakes**

"Whoa...that's a big house."

Haruhi stared openly at the huge mansion standing before her as she clutched at a stitch in her chest. Her hike from the main gate to the actual house had left her quite exhausted; she was quite sure she'd crossed more than a mile's worth of land. She glanced at her watch and saw that she still had five minutes to spare, which was good; she didn't want to be late for her first babysitting job. She had been quite surprised when she'd received a call from the Haninozuka family requesting that she babysit their son soon after she'd posted up her ad on the school's website. However, she couldn't say no to their offer - 100 dollars for each hour seemed like a huge sum of money.

As she knocked at the door, she found herself hoping that the Haninozuka child wouldn't give her much trouble. She was a bit of an expert when it came to children, but she didn't think she could deal well with the mischievous and loud ones. Moments later, the door opened and she found herself looking up at a tall young man with black hair and a cool gaze. He looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn't quite remember who he was.

"Hello, I'm..." she started.

"Fujioka Haruhi," he cut her off, and she nodded. He stepped aside to allow her through the door. "You've been expected. Please come in."

"Th-thank you," she murmured, walking directly past him. Once inside, she let her eyes wander over the place. The entrance hall on its own was three-times the size of her apartment, all marble and oriental carpets. There was a huge marble staircase right across from her, which led up to the second floor. Crystal chandeliers were dangling from the ceiling, and there were lots of carvings and painting spread across the vast ceiling. Against the walls stood huge oak doors, which led into what Haruhi was sure they were magnificent rooms...no, halls. "Whoa...."

"Mit...Haninozuka-sama will be with you in just a few moments," the man told her.

"Umm...okay," she said, nodding her head. Would she have to call the kid Haninozuka-sama, too?

Haruhi suddenly heard the distinct thundering of someone running down the stairs, and so she turned around and fixed her gaze on the stairs. She assumed the stair case must be long because it was a while before a little blond boy came into view. His eyes fell on Haruhi and his expression lit up. He came rushing down the stairs, ran across the hall and skidded to a halt in front of hair. His cheeks were flushed and he looked a little out of breath. Haruhi thought he looked absolutely adorable, with his golden-blond hair and his hazel-colored eyes, he looked so cute.

"Hello, kiddo," she said with a gentle smile, and offered the blond her hand. "I'm Haruhi. What your name?"

The boy paused for a moment before grinning back and shaking her hand a little too enthusiastically. "Hello, Haru-chan! I'm Honey!" he chirped. He held up his pink bunny. "And this is Usa-chan. Would you like to say hello to him?"

"Sure!" she said and shook the bunny's furry little hand. "Hello, Usa-chan. I hope we can become friends, what do you say?"

"Usa-chan will be delighted to have you as a friend!" Honey answered for his bunny, hugging him tightly to his chest. "Because you're so cute, Haru-chan!"

Haruhi raised an eyebrow. "And you're so cute, too, Honey-chan," she said uncertainly. She straightened up and placed her hands on her hips. "Well, then, Honey-chan, what would you like to do? Your parents told me on the phone that they won't be back before three hours, so we've got a lot of time to kill. If it were a school night, I would've sent you right to bed, but it isn't..."

"Let me show you around the house!" he suggested.

"That sounds like a lovely idea," she agreed.

"And after that, we can have cake!" he pressed on.

"Do you like cake, Honey-chan?" she asked him, smiling.

"I love cake!" he said happily. "Especially the ones which have strawberries. Do you like strawberries, Haru-chan?"

"Oh, yes, I like strawberries very much," she admitted.

"Yay!" he exclaimed. He looked around at the young man, who was still standing there, watching them politely. "Ta...I mean, Morinozuka-san, could you please arrange that for us? Lots and lots of cake in the dining room!"

The man called Morinozuka nodded before turning on his heels and walking away. Haruhi frowned at his retreating back - she felt like she was missing something crucial, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. A tug on her hand brought her attention back to her charge, and she smiled pleasantly at him.

"Let's go?" he said.

"Okay."

---

"Aaaaaand this is my bedroom!"

Honey threw open the door to what seemed like a football field. Standing at the door and looking at mirror hanging on the wall across...she appeared to be tiny. Absolutely tiny. The room was simply huge, and yet, it was completely filled with objects of all sorts. There was a huge four-poster bed, carved cupboards and drawers, vases and urns, bronze statues, huge flower arrangements, a minibar, and...toys. A lot of toys. Mostly bunnies and stuffed animals, but there was a lot of toys all over the place.

"Whoa..."

"You like it?" he asked.

"It's not a question of whether I like it or not, it's just..._huge!_" she exclaimed.

He tilted his head to one side. "Is it?" he said. "Hmmm..."

"You sure do like bunnies, don't you?" she said.

"Yes, I love bunnies!" he declared. He held his bunny close to his chest. "But I love this bunny the most, because, you know, my grandmother made it for me. My grandmother's dead now, so I have to take extra care of this bunny because she won't be able to make me another one if I ruin it."

Haruhi nodded slowly. "Right..." she murmured. "Let's talk about something else, Honey-chan."

"You don't like talking about dead people?" he asked innocently.

"It's not that..." she said hesitantly.

"I think we should always talk about dead people, Haru-chan; they were once people, too, and they shouldn't be forgotten. They'll be sad if we forget about them," he said, a solemn expression on his face. "Do you know any dead people, Haru-chan?"

"I do," she admitted, and he gave her a look which suggested he wanted to know more. "My mom is dead."

Honey's eyes immediately filled with tears. "Haru-chan, I'm so sorry!" he cried.

Haruhi hastened to calm him down. "Honey-chan, it's alright!" she exclaimed, but he continued to sob anyway. She put her arms comfortingly around him. "Shh, it's okay. My mother died a long time ago, and I'm sure she's in a better place now. I'm not sad anymore."

"You aren't?"

She smiled and shook her head. "I really am not," she assured him. She released him from her embrace. "So, why don't you show me some of your other toys? Do you have any toys from foreign countries?"

His expression brightened. "Yes, I do!" he answered.

They spent an hour playing with Honey's many toys, and even then, Haruhi was pretty sure they hadn't even gotten past the first pile of these things. They only stopped when Morinozuka came to call them down to the living room for tea and cake. Honey didn't waste a single moment. He immediately jumped to his feet and tugged her off of the floor.

"Time for cake!" he squealed.

As he dragged her out the door and past the butler, Haruhi thought she saw the tall man giving them a weird sort of look. Once again, she felt that she was missing something pretty important here, but Honey wasn't giving her the chance to dwell on such thoughts.

"We always buy lots and lots of cake, Haru-chan, because I love cake a lot! Not just cake, no; I love all sorts of sweets and sugary snacks!" he was saying. "But don't worry, Haru-chan; I brush my teeth times a day, so I don't have any cavities!"

"That's good to hear, Honey-chan," she replied.

It took them a few minutes to get to the dining room, something Haruhi found extremely amusing. But she was in for a shock when they stepped into the room; the surface of the long dining table could not be seen for all the cakes and sweets that were covering it. Chocolate cakes, strawberry cakes, cakes that were covered with icing of all colors, cookies, muffins, cupcakes, chocolate mousse, ice-cream...and some things Haruhi had never even seen before. It looked completely amazing. Her jaw literally dropped.

Honey clapped. "Yay! Ta...Morinozuka-san went all out for us!" he said happily.

"He sure did!" she exclaimed, completely awed.

Honey plopped down on a chair. "You sit down here, Haru-chan!" he said, pointing at the chair next to him.

She obliged. The sweets were all overwhelming to her, and all she could do was stare. Honey, on the other hand, was already helping himself to strawberry cake and a large scoop of vanilla ice-cream. When he saw that she wasn't touching the food, his expression fell.

"Don't you like the sweets, Haru-chan?" he asked.

"It's not that..." she murmured.

"What is it, then?" he asked.

"It's just that I've never seen this much food in one place before!" she replied. "It's amazing. Do you have this much food all the time? Can you even finish it?"

"Of course I can!" he chirped. "But, Haru-chan, if you're poor, I can give you all the sweets and food you want..."

Haruhi smiled patiently at the boy. "No, Honey-chan, I'm not poor, but I appreciate the thought," she told him. "You're really an incredibly sweet boy."

He beamed at her. "Thank you, Haru-chan," he said softly. "You're very nice, too. I like you. Will you come and babysit for me some other time?"

"Maybe, we'll see about that," she replied. She rubbed her hands together. "So, what do you suggest I start with?"

She put a little bit of everything on her plate. She wasn't a glutton or anything, but her father always taught her that when someone offers you something for free, you should get a lot of it. She knew she wouldn't have this sort of treat for a while, so she was going to take advantage of the situation.

And it all tasted great. The mousse was just so smooth and creamy, and so was the ice-cream. The cookies were so chewy and filled with chocolate, the cupcakes were soft and gooey, and the strawberry cake was just pure bliss. She was definitely in heaven.

It was probably because she was busy stuffing her face that she didn't see it coming. Haruhi certainly didn't see _that kiss _coming. She had just been eating the cake, and then...out of nowhere, Honey had leaned across the table and kissed her full on the mouth. The kiss tasted of cake and icing and strawberries. If Haruhi wasn't too stunned, she would've pulled away immediately, but she was rooted to the spot. She was being kissed by a 10-year-old! And the kid actually knew how to kiss!

When Honey broke the kiss, he just smiled serenely at her. "You had icing on your lips," he said simply.

Haruhi was blushing furiously. "H-Honey-chan!" she stammered, trying to think straight. "Y-you shouldn't have done that! You're still too young, and I'm much too old for you! And you shouldn't kiss people without their permission!"

He continued to smile. "Well, then, can I _please _kiss you again, Haru-chan?" he asked.

"What? No!" she exclaimed, aghast. "Honey-chan, you can't kiss girls who are older than you! And you're just ten years old; you shouldn't be kissing girls in the first place! You should be out playing soccer and riding bicycles and doing whatever it is that kids your age do!"

He pouted. "But there was icing on your lips," he pointed out.

"That's not an excuse, Honey-chan!" she cried in exasperation. "You have icing on your cake; you don't need to kiss it right off my mouth."

"Well, alright," he said with a dejected sigh. He started to stab his cake with the fork. He stabbed it a few times before actually putting a piece of it in his mouth. He gave her an imploring look. "I'm sorry, okay, Haru-chan?"

"It's alright, don't worry about it," she assured him as she picked up her fork again. She was still feeling weirded out, but she wasn't about to let Honey be aware of that; after all, it was her job to keep him happy until his parents returned, right? She was starting to chew on another piece of cake when she felt a presence hovering at her side. She looked and saw that Honey was standing next to her. "Are you okay, Honey-chan?"

If she had been surprised before, it was nothing compared to what she was feeling now. All hints of cuteness had abandoned Honey's face; he wasn't smiling and his eyes were quite intense. He raised his hands and took Haruhi's face between them. She swallowed the cake without chewing it. She shivered at his touch and held her breath as he brought his face close to hers; she could feel his breath tickling her nose.

"I've been watching you for a while, and I didn't know how to get you to talk to me. You didn't seem like the sort of girl who'd be interested in dating," he whispered. "So your babysitting offer was just perfect. And Takashi was more than willing to help me out. So we pulled this little play together."

She stared at him, bewildered. "Honey, what on Earth...?" she said.

"Haruhi," he said quietly, dropping his endearment term for her altogether. "I'm not ten years old."

And then he was kissing her again. Gently at first, but then with growing intensity. Haruhi's eyes fluttered shut, and her arms fell limp to her side. She wanted to push him away, but for some reason, she'd quite lost the feeling in her arms. She thought that she didn't want the kiss to end...all enjoyable things shouldn't end. She surprised herself by kissing him back, moaning softly as he deepened the kiss.

After a moment, he broke the kiss. He smiled at her. "I'm actually seventeen..."

-

**A/N: If you're still confused about what was happening, Honey was just pretending to be ten so that he could get Haruhi to hang out with him, and Mori was helping out by playing the role of the butler. You may be annoyed that I cut the story short right then and there, but...I'm just leaving room for your imagination! I hope you liked this one - reviews would be appreciated!**

_- S. N. B. _


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